--- title: Nice Guy Tom Hanks Gave a Child Getting Bullied a Typewriter description: Tom Hanks cemented his reputation as the nicest man in Hollywood after giving a typewriter to a bullying victim. canonical: https://time.com/5826972/tom-hanks-typewriter-letter/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-04-24T14:41:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:01:26.756Z og:title: Nice Guy Tom Hanks Gave a Kid Getting Bullied for Having the Name Corona a Typewriter og:description: Read the sweet letter signed 'P.S. You got a friend in ME' og:url: https://time.com/5826972/tom-hanks-typewriter-letter/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Nice Guy Tom Hanks Gave a Kid Getting Bullied for Having the Name Corona a Typewriter twitter:description: Read the sweet letter signed 'P.S. You got a friend in ME' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Tom Hanks Gave His Corona Typewriter to a Kid Bullied Over Having the Name Corona by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Apr 24, 2020 2:41 PM UTC by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Apr 24, 2020 2:41 PM UTC While [Tom Hanks](https://time.com/4608966/tom-hanks-selfie-fan/) diligently stayed in self-isolation after testing positive for the coronavirus to avoid spreading it, there was nothing stopping him from a little act of kindness in the form of a Corona brand typewriter. The epistolary friendship began when an eight-year old boy named Corona De Vries heard the news that Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, had tested positive for the virus and were in self-isolation in Australia. The boy decided to write Hanks a letter to check in on him. “I heard on the news you and your wife had caught the coronavirus,” Australia’s [Channel Seven reported](https://business.facebook.com/7NEWSGoldCoast/photos/a.841323455966344/2858873457544657/). “Are you OK?” In the letter, the boy opened up to the actor telling him that while he loved his first name, kids at school had started calling him the coronavirus, which made him “sad and angry”. > [](https://twitter.com/7NewsGoldCoast/status/1253221470538395651) The sweet note struck a chord with Hanks, who [wrote](https://time.com/5009167/tom-hanks-book-uncommon-type/) back. “Your letter made my wife and I feel so wonderful!” Hanks wrote in a letter shared on Twitter. “You know, you are the only person I’ve ever known to have the name Corona – like the ring around the sun, a crown.” “I thought this typewriter would suit you,” the Oscar winner, [typewriter app creator](https://time.com/3112027/hanx-writer/), and [noted typewriter enthusiast](https://time.com/4913685/doug-nichol-typewriter-documentary/) wrote. “Ask a grown up how it works. And use it to write me back.” At the end of the letter, Hanks hand wrote: “P.S. You got a friend in ME!”, a reference to the line famously uttered by his character Woody in the film _Toy Story_. In short, even in the midst of a pandemic, [Tom Hanks](https://time.com/4528931/tom-hanks-on-donald-trump-women-comments/) continues to be really good at being [Tom Hanks](https://time.com/4507954/tom-hanks-wedding-photo-shoot/). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5826972/tom-hanks-typewriter-letter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5826972/tom-hanks-typewriter-letter/"},"headline":"Tom Hanks Gave His Corona Typewriter to a Kid Bullied Over Having the Name Corona","datePublished":"2020-04-24T14:41:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:01:26.756Z","description":"The actor cemented his reputation as the nicest man in Hollywood","url":"https://time.com/5826972/tom-hanks-typewriter-letter/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Brief","clickmonsters","COVID-19","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5826972/tom-hanks-typewriter-letter/","name":"Tom Hanks Gave His Corona Typewriter to a Kid Bullied Over Having the Name Corona"}}]}] ```